Courage At Its Weakest
by kudarii
Summary: How is it that having a best friend for the longest time turn into something ugly in the shortest? Sora was in love with Taichi and got her heart broken. How did it end up the other way around? Taiora? Mimato
1. Evocable Epiphanies

**Chapter 1: **Evocable Epiphanies: Taichi

_Have you ever asked yourself, "Why wasn't that me that happened to?"? Or even, "Why does he have to be the one with all of the luck?" What about ever asking yourself, "Why did I have to be the idiotic one?"? Well, you know what? I've asked myself that last one all the time. Why? Because what you're about to see is a story of drama, idioticness, stupidity, and stuff that's personal to a seventeen-year-old. _

_Oh yeah, tell yourself, 'A seventeen-year-old is always secretive! They're teenagers, after all!' Well, how secretive is this? My best friend is a yellow talking dinosaur (not the gay wad with a hand up his ass Barney, I'm talking about a living, yellow dinosaur). My other best friend who I had grown up with is the hottest bachelor at our school (no. I'm not a yaoi fanatic, that's just gross considering I'm a guy myself), but used to be a lone wolf. He's one of the main characters of my stupid personal life. No, we aren't secretly gay and absolutely love each other, I already told you that homosexuality is gross (although, girl-on-girl is pretty cool on some levels, but I respect all hetero and homos the same way), but he is dating someone that I love. _

_Who the hell is that? Sora Takenouchi. She's my best friend and has been since we were three-years-old and met each other at the park. Well, she was, anyways. I screwed up. Yeah, It's kinda in my genes to be a screw up, considering I once thought I was king of the world in this place called the digital world and got her to get kidnapped. All my friends there (thank goodness my sister wasn't there at the time, she would have done the same thing I did) and tried to comfort me as I cried myself to sleep that night. _

_How couldn't I? She's my best friend! C'mon, guys, you'd do the same thing if you knew a girl for almost all of your life and screwed up, you can't get past that. And you know what? She's the most perfect girl that I've ever known; gentle and motherly, tomboyish (or at least she was. My damn best friend turned her into a stupid fan of his. Yeah, I called him stupid. Got a problem with it?) and rough. Most of all though, she was loving and understanding and had the most gorgeous look whenever she saw me. _

_But, I told you that my life is full of screw ups already. And you know what? Most of these damn screw ups are with her, and I can't help myself for screwing up, but starting before middle school, I, Taichi Yagami, made the biggest mess of my life with her. _

"Now?"

"No! Taichi, I told you already that I look awful!"

"Oh puh-lease, Sora! We're talking about middle school uniforms here. They're big and we'll grow into them by the time school starts in August!" Taichi rolled his eyes put his hands behind his head. He cracked a grin. "Remember, to the seniors, we're midgets."

"Well, at least you look okay! I look ridiculous!" she called back from the changing room.

"Sora, I somehow doubt that," Taichi retorted. He shook his head with a small chuckle and looked at himself in the mirror. Over his head was his signature goggles over his blue sweatband. He had to admit, the blue clashed with his hideously green blazer. Thankfully, that was the only thing that was the hideous green, and, he was allowed to wear the goggles at the high school. When he had come out of the dressing room in his own clothes, he had gotten remarks from other girls that he looked pretty hot, and that was enough for Taichi to hear. Sure, he wasn't a flirt, but compliments were good for the soul, right?

"And you know what I doubt? I doubt that I actually look good in this."

"And exactly when did you of all girls become self conscious? C'mon, Sora, you know your individuality is what I like best about you," Taichi encouraged. He tucked his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "C'mon, I'm sure that you look…" He wrinkled his nose. Never, he promised himself, would he ever say this world ever again. "cute. I'm sure the outfit will look cute on you."

"…"

"Sora? C'mon, you promised to me that we both would wear our uniforms anyways. You can't back down on a promise."

He heard a sigh come from the dressing room. Slowly, the door opened, revealing the blushing twelve-year-old. She held her hands out to form a 'T'. Taichi cracked a grin. She looked more than cute. She looked adorable. _Especially _considering her sleeves were drooping over her hands. "Well? I told you that this looked horrible!"

"As if," Taichi replied back. He looked at her playfully. "If I were single, I'd date you in a heartbeat. You look pretty hot, you know."

Sora immediately blushed as he said that. She squirmed. "T-Taichi!"

"What? Is it so weird for a twelve-year-old to compliment his best friend by saying she looks hot? Now _come on. _Get your clothes and let's get moving. Hikari and the others are waiting for us in the digital world!" Taichi encouraged. He pulled on her arm as she held the bag that contained both of their clothes.

"Taichi!" she squeaked. She tried to keep pace with the energetic boy, but seemed to be failing at the slightest. "Slow down!"

"Heck no!" Taichi grinned and looked back at her. "It's the first day of summer vacation and I'm allowed to be happy!" He let out a childish laugh and pulled the girl into a bear hug as they got to the end of the street. "Geez. You're out of shape since you dropped soccer for tennis."

"Am not!" Sora protested. She pouted at the taller boy, which earned another laugh. Slowly, a smile formed over her face as she started to laugh too. Taichi let go of her slowly. Sora looked at him and shrugged. "You know, you shouldn't really put down tennis. It's a good way to test your agility."

"You know what's another good way? Kicking a soccer ball pasted your opponent," Taichi replied. Both of them walked slower until they got to the elementary school. Immediately, both dropped to their knees and crawled against the cement gates that led inside. Playfully, he whispered, "And, kicking Vandemon's butt is a plus!" He fiddled with the school gate. Finally, both of them were inside and once again, crawling their way through.

Sora arched her eyebrow at the second logic. "Yeah? Well, we both did the last one."

"But only one of us decided to drop out of soccer."

"And only one of us is nagging about it," Sora pointed out. They made it to the back entrance of the school easily and snuck in. Very few teachers would want to be in school the day after the last day of school. Thankfully, those few teachers left the doors unlocked. …Well, it was either them, or it was the digidestined who decided that they'd break in.

"Yeah? And I have a right to," Taichi said as he got up from the ground. He dusted himself off and helped the girl up. He frowned. "Sora, you're the best co-captain we've ever had. As the other co-captain, I should know."

"Well, you'll make a great captain-captain," Sora reassured. She blushed slightly and put her hands behind her back. "After all, you're already a great leader. Besides, you could always ask that Daisuke kid to fill in as the other captain."

"You mean the little kid who took Takeru's slot as my little sister's new boyfriend?" Taichi cracked a grin. "Maybe." Slowly, both of them started walking to the computer room, often bringing up the conversation between Sora's dropping out. Until, Taichi stopped. He turned his head and flashed a concerned look at Sora. "You've got the presents for her, right?"

Sora blinked. Immediately, she flashed another reassuring smile and nodded her head. "Yeah, yeah. I've got the gift for your girlfriend. You can stop worrying already!"

"Can you blame me? I'll barely see her after she leaves!" Taichi laughed quietly as he opened the door. When he did, there was a note plastered on the only monitor that was turned on. Taichi picked it up and read aloud, "'Took you guys long enough. Meet us on File Island.' Geez. And I thought I was the only impatient one of the bunch." He started typing something on the keyboard.

Sora watched awkwardly and held the bag in her hands tightly. "So… what do you plan on telling Mimi when you give her _your _gift?"

"I'm not really sure, truthfully," Taichi replied with an awkward shrug. He smiled as he clicked something on the computer screen. "It's kinda funny, though. Hopefully when I tell her, she's not going to be that sad."

"Sad?" Sora blinked. Her eyes widened. "Taichi… you're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?"

"It depends if you know how my mind works," Taichi replied nonchalantly. He shrugged and stopped typing that instant. "I know how Koushirou and Jyou stare at her that much. And you know what? I'm not even that much jealous. I mean, I really will miss her since she was my first girlfriend, but Mimi's… Well, we haven't really been seeing eye-to-eye lately anyways. Besides, having an unrequited love is a bad thing."

"I know the feeling…," Sora replied weakly. She looked up at the boy from behind with furrowed eyebrows.

"Hm? What was that?"

"N-Nothing…"

Taichi turned around and cracked a grin. "All right, good news for us. The Digital World's feeling generous today and letting us in."

"Great," Sora smiled happily. She stared as Taichi recited the words to get to the other world and smiled just a bit more. "Just… great."

_And… stop. Oh, no. This isn't the end of the story. After all, this just happened five years ago and we haven't even gotten started yet. Looking back on it now, you can see how stupid I am, can't you? Yeah, if we were a story, what she just said would mean that we would end up with each other, right? Boy, I wish. Just watch, my life's about to get crappier. …What? I'm being a spoil-sport to you now that you know I've got a good friend? _

_So, we have the party, and even Takeru, whose mother told him they should have moved, was there. So, us eight original digidestined were having the time of our lives. Jyou tore away from his studies and we were at the edge with our digimon where our Digital Adventure had first started (minus my sister since she was sick when the original seven were there. But, Takeru explained everything to her, and boy, if it weren't the fact that I was trusting of him, I'd had smack him for blushing so much with her) what was there and we opened gifts and all. _

_As for when I broke up with Mimi? How about we zoom to that part right now? _

Taichi laughed happily and took a sip of the soda in his hands. He opened one of his eyes and eyed his girlfriend rather anxiously. He felt a nudge in the arm and saw Sora giving him a reassuring look. "Hey, Mimi?" he finally said.

The girl broke away from her conversation with Hikari and looked at Taichi with a happy grin. "Yeah, Taichi?"

Taichi shrugged. "Let's talk. Alone. Please?" Mimi blinked and nodded her head. Taichi flashed a smile to her and pulled her up from the ground.

"Don't do anything stupid, you two!" Yamato jokingly called to them.

Mimi giggled and locked hands with Taichi as they finally got away from their friends. "He's just… really silly."

"Well, you have to admit, that's an improvement after three years of being a total stiff," Taichi cracked a grin and sat down on a giant rock. He patted the space next to him.

"Thanks," Mimi replied. She sat down and looked at him curiously. "So? What's up?"

"Well…," Taichi replied skeptically. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Really, don't take this the wrong way, but… do you think Yamato's attractive?" He looked away and was ready to plug his ears from the girl squirming. When he didn't hear anything, he turned his head back to Mimi and saw her with a surprised look.

"T-Taichi…," she stammered. She turned back to him. "I can't believe you'd ask me something like that! I mean sure, he's an aspiring singer, but-"

"Do you find him attractive?" Taichi repeated. He shrugged. "Or… any other guy besides me, for that matter? I mean, I know we're barely even teenagers, but c'mon."

"All right… I'll answer your question when you answer mine."

"Deal," Taichi replied. He looked at her and arched his eyebrow.

Mimi shrugged and put her hands between her legs. "Well… Do you think Sora's cute? I mean… you guys hang out a lot so much, and one of you is bound to-"

"Oh yeah. I find her so hot that I'd make out with her in a heartbeat."

Mimi laughed lightly at this and turned her head back to Taichi, who cracked a joking grin. "I'm serious, Taichi! Do you honestly, in any way, find Takenouchi Sora attractive?"

Taichi blinked and shrugged back. He looked up into the sky, a dazed look on his face. "Honestly?" He earned a 'yes' from the girl and shook his head. "No. I mean, she's cute, but she's my best friend. Mimi, exactly what do you expect me to say about her? She's like a sister to me." He chuckled lightly. "Besides, even if I liked her that much, she'd never like me back. For all I know, I'm like some little daredevil brother to her."

Mimi stared at him for what seemed like forever. She let out a quiet sigh and shook her head. "Really now…"

"Anyways," Taichi interrupted. He looked back at her. "How do you feel about Yamato?"

Mimi blinked. This time, she was the one who was staring up into the sky. She shrugged lightly. "What do you expect me to say about him? I'm only eleven and I still have a lot to learn about him." She shrugged and giggled. "But a lot of people at school think that we're the perfect couple."

"You would be," Taichi pointed out. He shrugged and stretched his arms out. "…Which, brings me to something else."

"Eh?" Mimi turned her head in confusion to the boy. "What are you talking about?"

"I think…," Taichi said slowly. He looked at her apologetically, "that we should break up. Face it, Mimi, even I know that a long distance relationship never works out."

"…Maybe you're right-"

Obliviest

"And we can never be too sure if we can see each other-"

"Taichi, I said that you were-"

"Since the Digital World's portal opens at rare times and sometimes not at the same time around the world-"

"Taichi…"

"And tickets cost-" He was pulled into a soft, sweet kiss that tasted like chocolate before it was let go. Taichi blinked and looked at Mimi and arched his eyebrow. "Have you heard anything I just said?"

Mimi stared for what seemed like forever. Then, she let out a laugh and shook her head. "I have. But you just kept babbling on and on. Yagami Taichi, I haven't seen you this nervous since your sister first hit puberty and you were the only one home."

Taichi blushed at that and shook his head. "If you were a guy, you'd be nervous about that too! But…" He looked at the girl with seriousness. "Why are you acting so calm?"

"I agree with you," Mimi replied. She shrugged her shoulders. "Quite frankly, a long distance relationship sucks and… you've already found a replacement girlfriend."

Taichi frowned in surprise and looked at Mimi curiously. "I have?"

"Just wait and see."

"That doesn't really help me much," Taichi frowned.

"No. Really, wait and see for yourself," Mimi replied with a smile. She turned to him and arched her eyebrow playfully. "You think that there'll be some cute guys in New York?"

Taichi blinked and cracked a grin. "You bounce back fast, Tachikawa."

"Hey, my motto is, 'Life's short. Live happy first,'" Mimi replied with a shrug. She let out a small giggle and kissed him on the cheek. "Try not to miss me that much, all right?"

"I'll try," Taichi laughed.

"Well then, I guess I should get back since you already stole the fashionably late thing from me," Mimi replied. She stood up from the rock and turned her head to the direction that the both had come. Taichi watched her leave, then saw that everyone was actually looking at them. Mimi stopped in her tracks in surprise with a blush. "Did you guys… don't tell me you were…"

All of them started jabbing fingers at each other. "He told us to!" It was hard to tell who was telling the truth. In fact, all of them just seemed to have mischievous looks on their faces, except for Sora.

Taichi stared at her in surprise. Not because she was spying, but because she was staring at him with the weirdest look he'd ever seen from the girl. It was a mix between hurt, and heartbroken, if there was a difference at all. Tears were threatening to run down her face. Hell, they were already at her cheeks. Taichi arched his eyebrow carefully at her. "Are you okay, Sora?" he got up from the rock and walked over to her with a concerned look.

When he finally got to her, though, she stumbled to back away. She was staring at him now and tried furiously to blink away the tears, but they were already running down her face. "Y-You… T-Taichi… y-you're…" She was all out crying now, and hiccupping at that.

Taichi fidgeted a bit and turned his head with a glare at the others. "What'd you guys do to her?"

All of them stared at Taichi as if he had just done something stupid. Yamato sighed and rubbed his temples. "Honestly… we've been standing here for the most part and you're really…"

"Quite frankly, Taichi… none of us really thought you were _that _dense…," Koushirou mumbled under his breath. "All of us know, you know."

Agumon nodded his head. "You're really oblivious, aren't ya, Taichi?"

"Know what?" Taichi asked angrily. He pulled Sora into a hug as she stood frozen. "What the hell did you guys do to her?!"

That's when Sora finally got into motion. She wrestled under his grip to get away and slapped him harshly in the face. "Taichi you… YOU IDIOT!" And with that, she ran.

_You know what? Now that I think about it, love and friendship really do belong together. Why? Because, without friendship, how would you get love? That's pretty much something that I obviously missed. And you know what? I caught the message right then and there. I've known Sora for years, right? Well, apparently our friendship had reached the level of love for her. Or at least, the like-like kind of love. That slap hit me cold and hard. _

_Everyone knew. _Everyone _knew that she liked me a lot. Everyone, except for oblivious goggle-headed me who was too blind to realize it. This was one of the biggest screwed up things that I was talking about. And you know what? Friendship ran after love. No, I don't mean friendship came after love, I mean literally, my best friend, the holder of the crest of friendship (or used to be, anyways), ran after my best friend, AKA the holder of love. _

_Looking at it now, it really was stupidity. Girl on rebound and first guy she sees (depending whether or not he's a good guy) equals obvious relationship. Geez. Stupid me strikes once again. _

_All summer, I didn't see her at all. Mimi left already for America, so I didn't really have someone to help me with it. I could talk to my sister about it, but that'd be awkward. Why? I was thinking about the very first day of my summer for the rest of my summer that year. Why didn't I realize it before, I'd have to ask myself. It was like I was dropping hints to Sora the whole time we were in the Digital World for the very first time and didn't even know it. Did I like her all along and was having my subconscious drop the hints to her about it? Maybe. _

_Even the very thought of her that summer made me blush. Hell, seeing anything that _reminded me _of her mad me blush. And you know what? That was only the second week of summer. How sad is that? With courage as my key trait, I tried my best to get in contact with her too. I'd try to leave her a thousand messages (which, reminded me of the attack from Diaboramon when she wouldn't read my messages. Damn, that annoyed the shit out of me.), but she'd never pick up on them. She was out on vacation or something, I dunno. _

_Hikari said that after that I started maturing quickly. I dunno what she meant about that, but I guess you can see the comparison, huh? After all, from just one flashback to my intro to you, you pretty much saw how bitter I am now compared to then, right? You would be too if you were just now having an epiphany that you were in love with your best friend after being evoked from a slap. Geez, a painful one at that. _

_I never got in contact with her at _ all _that year. She and I had different classes for everything, like she asked someone up there herself to avoid me. Soccer practice seemed like a plus on the first day of school, but then I remembered I had been nagging her in the first place to not drop out. Damn, was I so stupid back then! And you know what? I hate those lovey-dovey lovesick people you see on TV. Eventually, I calmed down. She's not my best friend anymore, so why bother, right? She had a different life from then on and I didn't see her. At all. _

_Finally, when duty called a year later, three years after evil before, we get attacked from the Digimon Kaiser. Wooptie-doo. I saw her for the very first time in what seemed like forever (she's pretty clever in avoiding me, you know?) when I called a meeting for this 'Armor Shinka' business. Once again, we had no classes that year, and you know what? She looked gorgeous. What? A thirteen-year-old boy can't use the word 'gorgeous' at the time? Well, she was and I'm not denying it. She was smiling at me as if she forgot everything, and I really wanted to talk to her. Not in front of everyone though. That'd just be… awkward. Seriously awkward. _

_Luckily, we got to see each other the next day since Miyako and Iori were nagging to see the Digital World themselves. Unluckily, I was the distraction for our old teacher. Screw him, I never did like him. _

_And the part you guys have been waiting for since I started babbling? When I find out she was at a whole new level of unreachable. _

Taichi wrapped his scarf tighter over his neck and looked at Agumon from the corner of his eye. "You think the new digidestined will be able to handle it, Agumon?"

"With Ken on their team, we might be able to find something!" Agumon reassured as they continued their walk. He looked at Taichi from the corner of his eye with a concerned look. "..You miss the action too, don't you?"

"Who wouldn't? We kicked butt!" Taichi replied with a small chuckle. They stayed still at a stopping light before continuing. Taichi then held a dazed look as he thought about it a little more. "Lots… and lots of butt. And even had a damsel in distress…"

"You're talking about Sora, aren't you?" Agumon asked him in a sad tone. Both of them walked again as the light turned green.

Taichi sighed softly as they continued their walk. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you _did _get her into a lot of trouble," Agumon pointed out. He cracked a monstrous grin at the boy. "She's quite a catch."

Taichi stopped in his tracks and flinched. He blushed ever-so slightly and turned to Agumon with a glare. "What are you talking about?!"

"It's easy to read you," Agumon laughed. He folded his arms knowingly. "Just like a book."

"Well, this book is overdue for Yamato's concert. We're gonna be late," Taichi said as he looked at his watch. He laughed and pulled on Agumon's arm to run. "Hurry up!"

"GAH! All right, all right!" Agumon cried back.

With a couple of jokes, both of them made their way to the concert hall Yamato would be performing at. Taichi cracked a grin at the line. "He's certainly gotten pretty popular. Hope he remembers who even _started _his band career." He twisted his foot and made his way to the back as Agumon stared at him in surprise.

"You did?"

"Of course," Taichi replied. He shrugged his shoulders and looked forward. "He and I both took Guitar lessons. One time during practice, some other kids joined us and we had a crowd and made some money. I quit because I had to save your sorry behind."

"Hey!" Agumon pouted.

Taichi laughed and put his arm around Agumon. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He smiled softly and thought about it more. Within the two years, Sora had grown.. beautifully. She was loving and she was comfortable with everyone. How could you not like her? Agumon tugged on the boy's sleeve, which snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked over at Agumon and saw him point somewhere. As soon as Taichi looked towards that direction, he regretted it. His throat suddenly became dry and his thought pattern went from a perfect ten to zero. Standing there was none other than said girl.

"Taichi... we could just go to the seats if you want...," Agumon told him quietly. A concerned look flashed over the dinosaur's face.

Taichi could feel his face heat up immediately as he saw the girl. She seemed much different from the months past before. Where was his courage? Why couldn't he just—"Sora! Wait up!"—...not sound like an idiot? Taichi flinched as he saw her eyes land on him and immediately ran up to her.

Sora smiled at him endearingly. "Oh, hello—" Her eyes landed on the gift in her hands. Taichi immediately noticed it.

"Something smells good!" Agumon remarked cheerfully. The door in front of them immediately opened, revealing Gabumon.

"Those smell great! Yamato's practicing, but I'll be glad to take those to him!" Gabumon replied cheerfully.

Taichi let out a quiet laugh as both Piyomon and Gabumon started to quarrel about it. His eyes turned back over to Sora who was looking at them to. He could feel himself blush. _When in my lifetime have I ever been so nervous? _"So um... Sora... Are you going to the concert with anybody?" He felt his blush rise as he realized how flirty he had just sounded. "I mean, not that it matters to me, I'm just wondering..."

"Oh... I want to be available just in case Yamato's free after the concert...," Sora replied in an uncomfortable tone. She was barely even looking at him, a blush on her face as Yamato's name was mentioned.

A new feeling of jealousy enveloped Taichi. He shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Oh.. I see... Yamato..." Sora brought herself to look at her, her eyes connecting with his. Unlike when they were younger... it just felt awkward. _She's looking for approval, _Taichi realized. He smiled at her and walked up. His hand fell on her shoulder. "No, it's okay."

Sora looked at him in surprise. "You're not mad at me, Taichi..?"

He tried harder to smile and hoped it didn't look fake. "No." He gave her a reassuring shove inside. "Now, get inside and say 'hi' to Yamato for me."

"At least leave us the cookies!" Agumon childishly pouted.

Sora stared at Taichi for what seemed like forever. A light blush came over her face as she smiled at them. Taichi couldn't help but smile back. This didn't feel awkward at all... "Tell you what, I'll make you your own batch later."

A dazed, dreamy look came upon Taichi's face. He smiled again as she finally left. "I'll be waiting..."

_All right. So my introduction sucks. That was probably one of the last times both Sora and I had actually had a serious talk with each other before Yamato and she were together for real. They have been for the past few years, and you know what? I should be happy for them. They make a cute couple, they get discovered by the paparazzi all the time, and even have their own name; Sorato. Geez, fans can come up with the stupidest names, can't they? Well, all is gone. If you're still interested, keep reading, because I feel like spewing. This tragedy is just beginning. _

—

**Author's Note:**

Wow. This came out awfully... short. 8D;; I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry that Taichi sounds so OOC. (pout) Trust me, his personality gets better, and... I'm kinda still studying on character, so imagine me, a 13-year-old girl miserably failing at portraying 17-year-olds in the near future of this fic and waver whether or not you still want to read. Please, review!

Also, remember, this is a fanfiction site. No way do I own Digimon, just a simple fan. o.o


	2. Inevitable Truths

**Author's Note: **

(nervous laugh) ... (more nervous laugh) Um um um... I honestly have no excuse for this, so enjoy.

**Chapter 2: **Inevitable Truths: Sora

_Have you ever felt like your heart's been ripped out of you all of a sudden? Like, when you were in love with a guy for years, dreaming of him as your knight in shining armor that will save you from the tower that's kept you captive, and he's on his horse (or digimon as the case may be) and he's coming towards you, with lovestruck eyes ready to save you—but he entirely misses you and turns out that he has no feelings for you even the slightest?_

_That's how I feel. Having Mimi come back after so long... I was so happy that she would be; everyone was. I couldn't blame them, either. Mimi had been my best friend ever since we stepped foot into the Digital World with no way out. We fended for each other so many times. I love her as if she were my sister! But... like I said, everyone was happy to see her. Even my boyfriend. _

Sora sighed deeply and readjusted herself on the bike rack with a pout. She looked over at her boyfriend. "When is Yagami-san going to come out? We promised to be the first ones to go over and pick Mimi up!"

Yamato smiled sheepishly. "He's probably just sleeping in. You know how much of an idiot the guy can be. Let me call—" His cellphone ringer went off. The blond pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and then blinked. He flashed the screen at his girlfriend. "Looks like he beat me to it. Hello?" He put the phone on his ear. His face twisted in dismay. "What do you mean, 'Where the hell am I'? Where the hell are _you_?"

His girlfriend sighed and rolled her eyes. She glared at Yamato with a puff. "You better tell Yagami-san to hurry up!"

"He's already at the airport," Yamato whispered. He shrugged sheepishly and went back to the phone. "But—what do you—we were going to get a ride with you, man! ...What do you mean just ride my bike? ...What do you mean highjack my dad's car?! Taichi!" He sighed and rolled his eyes and looked back at Sora. "Looks like he's excited to see his ex."

"I can tell, but that doesn't give him the right to leave us stranded here without a ride!" Sora frowned.

Yamato only smiled. He tugged on her hand sweetly. "Let's get moving."

—

"Hey, remember the time that Mimi had visited and we tried baking a cake, but the batter ended up exploding in your face?"

Yamato grimaced. "How could I forget? I'm still afraid of your cooking, thanks to you."

Sora giggled. She smiled happily and folded her arms. A gasp escaped her lips. "Ooh! What about the time she and I were bathing and you had walked in on us by accident?"

The blond stopped in his tracks. He felt his face darken as he smiled. "And to this day you haven't let me have a glimpse of that hot body of yours since."

"To this day you haven't made a move on me to," a grin spread across Sora's face. She dreamily sighed and closed her eyes. "Honestly, now that she's moving back... I remember the day that we were having a going-away party." A blush fell upon her face. "That was the day that I fell for you."

Yamato smiled. He kissed her softly and intertwined his hand with hers. "I had fallen for you long before that, Sora."

Sora opened her eyes and giggled. She put her finger upon her cheek in curiosity and then frowned. She pursed her lips. "Actually... that day... the details were pretty sketchy."

"Huh?" Yamato blinked and looked at his girlfriend in surprise. He stopped her in her tracks and frowned. "You're telling me that you seriously don't remember what happened?"

"Should I?" Sora shrugged. She smiled endearingly. "That day I found my prince. And you're still standing in front of me now, aren't you?"

Yamato took in a deep breath and sighed. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "And here I thought that you've been ignoring him because you were still hurting. Sora... that day—"

"Sora-chan! Yamato-kun!"

The two cocked their heads. Yamato's jaw dropped as his eyes fixed on the girl standing only feet away from him. There was a light pink cowboy hat upon her head, allowing tuffs of her wavy caramel brown hair to frame her baby-doll face. Her arms were petite and small, pale and porcelain-colored as her skin. Her eyes showed exhaustion, but her beauty was still there. The girl's light summer dress fell upon her curves, reaching to mid-thigh as it stopped. "M-M-Mimi?!"

"Hm?" Sora turned her head. A smile fell upon her face. "Mimi!"

The boy standing next to Mimi turned his head. Taichi smiled at the two farther away from them with an exhausted look. He waved his hand with a grin. "Bout time you guys made it!"

"Wow, I haven't seen her since the new kids defeated Myotismon!" Sora remarked. She turned her head over to Yamato with a reminiscent smile. "She's definitely grown from when we were just little kids, don't you think?"

"...Y-Yeah...," Yamato struggled to say. His eyes observed each and every light movement the young woman made. She was beautiful. She was _gorgeous. _Was it the same Mimi?

The smile on Sora's face faded away. She looked at her boyfriend peculiarly and rose her eyebrow. "Yamato...?"

Mimi ran up to the two of them, immediately tackling the Takenouchi into a hug. She breathed out, "I missed you guys _so much! _Do you know how rare it is that I get to see you as it is?"

Sora giggled and hugged her best friend back. "Well, you're back now. Just in time for school too!"

"Not for a few days," Mimi shook her head tiresomely and yawned. "I mean, come on, we were so last minute on our packing! ...Oh!" Mimi turned her head over to Yamato and smiled knowingly. "Yamato-kun! It's been such a long time since I've seen you!"

"S-Same here," the blond stammered. A blush fell upon his face as he looked at the girl. "You've certainly... grown."

"You too!" Mimi burst into a fit of giggles and compared both her height and his height. Jumping up, she stuck her tongue out and smiled. "You used to be so short compared to me, remember?"

"She said the same exact thing to me," Taichi chuckled as he walked up behind Mimi. He let out a laugh and put his hand around her waist affectionately. Pulling her in, he grinned whole-heartedly. "Isn't she so cute?"

The smile on Yamato's face faded. He looked at his best friend peculiarly. "So.. the two of you are going to pick it up where you left off?"

"Wha?" Taichi looked at the blond cluelessly. Finally, he grinned and shook his head. "No!"

Mimi shook her head and smiled. "Honestly, we're just friends now. Taichi-kun's a great guy and all, but I'm back in Japan now. How lame would it be to hook up with a guy who you broke up with before you left?"

"Very," Taichi agreed and pulled the girl closer, giving her a smooch on the cheek.

"Oh stop!" Mimi pushed him away playfully and pulled a lock of her hair behind her ear. She smiled at the boy mischievously. "Besides... rumor has it that you've already got a crush on a girl."

The grin on the boy's face disappeared under a blush. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Wh-Who told you that?"

"Hikari, of course!" The younger teen smiled knowingly and winked. "You hook up with her yet?"

"Wait... you've got a crush on someone?" Yamato cut in immediately in surprise.

Taichi cocked his head and blinked. He smiled and nodded his head. "Of course. Guess it never came up, huh?"

"You're treating Sora well, right, Yamato?" Mimi said cheerfully. She intertwined both of her hands with the redhead and looked over at the blond. "She looks well."

A sigh of relief escaped Sora's lips. She nodded her head and cheerfully grinned. "It's not like he _owns me, _you know."

"R-Right...," Yamato stammered. He ran up to the two with a nervous laugh and patted Taichi's back roughly. "You know what? You came here pretty early and must be pretty tired. I'll carry the rest of the luggage for you! Come on, Mimi!"

The smile on Taichi's face disappeared into astonishment. He tucked his hands into his pockets and nodded his head slowly. "Um... okay."

Yamato put his arm around Mimi's shoulders as he shyly tried to make conversation with her. The two walked forward, not looking back even once.

Sora stared, long and hard. She sucked in her jaw and gritted her teeth, feeling rage boil at the pit of her stomach. She knew that other girls would be attracted to her boyfriend, but Yamato was attracted to Mimi right off the bat. He didn't even make an attempt to hide it! Sora jabbed her finger at Yamato and cocked her head angrily at Taichi. "Can you believe him?!"

Taichi turned his head to the girl in surprise. He shrugged nonchalantly. "I... guess." He tucked his hands into his pockets and looked back at the two.

"No, Yagami-san!" That earned a flinch from the brunette. Sora squirmed and folded her arms. "Yama and I have been in a relationship since the beginning of middle school! He's turned down every single girl there was, but as soon as my _best friend _comes into the picture, he stops with me and.. her... and... UGH!"

"It's just an attraction," Taichi protested. He shrugged his shoulders and looked over at Mimi seriously. "Besides, I was just like that too around her. We all just miss Mimi a lot and you know that." Looking back at the redhead from the corner of his eye, he awkwardly put in, "Besides... I know a few girls that are prettier than her."

"Who?" Sora bluntly snapped. She hugged herself, looking back to her boyfriend and never taking her sight off of him.

Taichi flinched again. A blush fell upon his face as he darted his eyes away from her. In a quiet murmur, he replied, "Well... you..."

The frown on the redhead's face disappeared. She smiled and looked over at him with a sigh. "Thanks." A sigh escaped Taichi's lips. "Hey, about that crush of yours..." He held it again. A grin played on her face. "Who is it?"

"Someone..."

"Someone I know?"

"Uh... yeah...," Taichi looked back at the shorter teen and shrugged. He observed her. "A redhead, our grade."

"Seriously? Redheads are rare at our school," Sora smiled knowingly and put her hands behind her back. "How long have you known her?"

Taichi shrugged. "We grew up together."

"That's cute!" Sora turned her head back to the luggage area. Her smile disappeared as soon as she couldn't find sight of her boyfriend, nor her best friend. She felt as if someone had just punched her in the stomach. Tears were ready to form in her eyes, not stopping even once. "Th-They're gone..."

Taichi leaned forward, immediately seeing her tears. He stiffened, numbly patting her on the back. She turned to him slowly, a disdainful look on her face. He sighed and tried his best to smile sympathetically. "I'll give you a ride home."

_When you're a little girl, your father wraps his arms around you, calling you his "little princess." As you gradually grow older, you start wondering when you feel trapped, "Where's my knight in shining armor?" You grow from being that little princess to being a young Helen of Troy with many suitors but only one of them can be your one true love? Please tell me... if it isn't the prince who understood me the best after all these years, who is it? _

The week past by quickly within a blink of an eye. Monday morning was here once more and Sora could only sigh in relief, having Yamato's arms over her all over again. Mimi hadn't enrolled to this school until today, having to unpack all of her belongings. That, Sora was very happy about.

Said redhead smiled before intertwining her hand in Yamato's and gently kissing him. She sighed dreamily before leaning into her boyfriend's chest. "Can you believe it? The original chosen children all in one place once again. It's fantastic!"

"Not as great as you," Yamato gave one of his famous Ishida grins, gently pressing his forehead against hers. "I've been working on a new song for your birthday."

"Really?" Sora couldn't help but return the grin. She felt herself crumble under him, giving the tiniest of squirms as he caressed her cheek. "Can you get any more perfect?"

"Heh," Yamato kissed her again. _"Those eyes... those lips... those sexy sexy hips..." _As if on cue, Yamato pinched her side, causing her to jump into his arms immediately. He let out a light laugh. "You are so cute when you do that."

"You're so mean when you do that!" Sora retorted. She blushed and squirmed as Yamato ran his hands along her hips.

Gasps were heard the minute after she said that. The couple turned their heads inquisitively, suddenly noticing that everyone had their faces peering out the window. "Taichi-kun's got a girlfriend!"

"What? No way," Yamato only rolled his eyes. He made his way through the crowd, Sora following. The blond's eyebrows quirked in surprise.

Taichi got out of the driver's seat before opening the passenger door. Sora only giggled before shaking her head. "It's just Mimi. The two of them used to date but other than that—...Yamato?" The minute Sora's eyes set sight on her boyfriend's face, she noticed the tension between his shoulders and the longing sight in his eyes. Sora could tell the jealousy that was burning in that intense blue glare, feeling the same emotion in the gut of her stomach. She touched Yamato's hand carefully. "Yamato."

"Hey Tai!" Yamato called out the window, completely ignoring her. A grin that seemed virulently fake from all those years Sora had spent with him appeared on his face before he let out a chuckle. "You two aren't doing anything in there, were you?"

The two cocked their heads toward the window immediately. Taichi grinned as Mimi giggled and shook his head. "About as much fun as you and Sora, just without the kissing and the groping!" As if on cue, he flinched the second Mimi pinched his butt. He let out a small laugh. "All right, maybe a little groping."

That, to simply put it, drove Yamato crazy. In a low, jealous tone that only Sora could hear, he angrily murmured, "Fucking bastard..."

"_...Yamato." _To say the least, Sora couldn't tolerate it up to this point. She pulled the boy by his shirt angrily and locked eyes into a glare. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"What are you talking about?" Yamato looked over to her in utter surprise. "He's being a—"

"A gentleman, at least more than you," Sora jabbed her finger harshly at his chest before crossing her arms. "_I'm _your girlfriend, _not _Mimi!"

"I know that—"

"Then why aren't you acting like that?" If Sora hadn't been arguing with her boyfriend, who she had _thought_ she loved as long as she did, she would have had a smirk of triumph on his face as Yamato's face tinged such an embarrassed pink. That was—if that was what the blush was for. Sora gritted her teeth, tossing her head over her shoulder and stomping back to her desk. "Forget it!"

"W-Wait! Sora!" Yamato ran after her and cursed under his breath about the humiliating scene unfolding.

Sora cocked her head back over to him, eyes as fierce as an Amazon's as she hissed in the angriest tone ever, "I said _forget it._"

—

The morning past by quickly, hour after hour. Sora felt herself cooling off with each waking second and caught her breath. She honestly felt the guilt churning in her stomach now as the angry fight between the couple replayed in her head like a broken record. Whenever she felt eyes embedding themselves in the back of her flaming red hair, she turned her head the first chance she got, only to see that Yamato had his eyes plastered on his work.

Lunch came quickly, much to Sora's relief. The class broke up either through the doors with bentous in their hands, except for Sora. She took two bentou that were in her desk and searched around immediately for Yamato.

No avail.

Sora breathed uneasily now, playing the worst image in her head as she closed her eyes. _No. _"I have the crest of love," Sora muttered under her breath comfortingly. "So if he still loves me—then let it rain or something to prove it." She looked up into the air and only frowned, seeing that the sky was clear and cloud-free. She would have blushed now, feeling silly through her own imagination.

Sora cocked her head into a different direction. Her heart stood still in her chest as she saw Yamato peering over the shoulder of none other than her best friend, Mimi. He smiled at her teasingly the same way he did when he was around her and Mimi smiled back before bursting into a fit of giggles.

She squeezed the bentou in her hands tightly before rushing back into the hallways, tears ready to fall out of her eyes. Was it over? Were they really not going to be able to mend their silly fight? Was it going to stay the way it was? "No..." she murmured quietly. "No!"

_**Plop!**_

The redhead fell to the ground immediately, having had bumped into something hard. She hiccuped, not wanting to get up. Her legs curled up into her chest and she felt as if she were a little girl again.

"Sora?" Sora kept her eyes shut, knowing only there was someone hovering over her—a boy—and that he was concerned. He was silent at first, before setting his hand on her shoulder, his voice soft. "What the hell happened to you?" She shrugged his hand off roughly, but he kept it in place. In a stern tone, he muttered, "Sora, look at me."

"No," she weakly snapped.

"Please?" The callused hand ran up her shoulder and gently into her hair. He cupped her cheek and brought her face up until she saw two caramel brown eyes. Taichi. He smiled at her sympathetically and sat down on the marble floor along with the bentou she had dropped in his lap. He chuckled softly, pulling locks of orange hair out of her face and wiped tears out of her face. "Anyone ever tell you you look better when you're not crying?"

Sora sniffled, looking in a different direction. Quietly and awkwardly, she croaked, "Not really."

She heard the boy softly chuckle before the two of them were swept into a deep silence. Sora buried her face into her arms. It felt like hours went by with the two there, barely uttering a word with Taichi's hard eyes against her side.

She peered once or twice, taking note of his face before he looked away and into his own wistful thoughts. He occasionally got up, chatting and snickering in the mischievous way when someone passed by in the hallway, but never left her side. Observing him, she finally came up with her conclusion.

"Why do you talk to everyone else so normally but so quiet with me?" Sora's innocent, muffled voice came. She looked at him through a mess of flaming hair. Taichi was needless to say, glad that she was too preoccupied by her own problem to notice the sudden red upon his cheeks.

"Well... you're a girl."

"Five of them passed and you were perfectly fine with them. They all confessed to you and you shrugged them off."

"W-Well..." It was silent as Taichi stared at the floor, as if his answer was embedded there. His face darkened slightly. "They weren't a miserable mess like you are now."

"Thanks."

"What I meant is," Taichi quickly said, his cheeks darkening as if he were a little kid again, "I don't leave my friends in the dark hurting like that."

Sora only laughed, tossing her head back weakly and closing her eyes. "We've barely talked to each other since after we came back from the Digital World."

"Y-Yeah...," Taichi muttered, as if he wanted to say something else. He peered at the girl from the corner of his eye. "So you want to talk about this?"

She only smiled, shaking her head. She took in a deep breath. "It's... nothing, really. Just..."

"Just?"

"Ever since Mimi came back from America, Yamato's been all over her and forgets I'm even next to him!" Sora tossed her hands up into the air and sighed in exasperation. She shook her head and closed her eyes. "I mean, just this morning, we were talking so intimately with each other, but when you and Mimi got out of your car... he was... was..."

"All over her?" Taichi suggested.

"Don't help."

Taichi chuckled cheekily and grinned. "Deal." He turned his head back to the girl, the same wistful look back on his face as she blew her bangs out of her face. His eyebrows furrowed into a mixture of captivation and awe before setting his hand beside Sora's. "Think about it this way."

Sora turned to him, a hopeless expression already fixed on her face.

"You're the flame that sparks his interest and you're the cherry on top of his ice cream sundae. You're the missing puzzle piece that found him, not the other way around." Taichi smiled at her as her face became the one that mixed with awe and captivation.

She only smiled before rolling her eyes. "You got that off of one of his songs."

"I know."

"And you memorized it?"

"I wrote it," Taichi narrowed his eyes, the intense stare suddenly causing the redhead's breath to stop. Taichi shrugged, taking a look at the bentou. "I help Yamato out with a lot of songs. Somehow he says I'm somewhat of a romanticist if I shut up and think."

"Romanticist...?" Sora's cheeks suddenly flared and she squirmed. "S-So... all of the songs he's written me...?"

"Mm. Helped him, duh." Taichi muttered, eyes still fixated on them. He turned his head and saw her blush darken. He arched his eyebrow. "What?"

"B-But..."

"I think about the girl I like," Taichi quickly quipped, feeling his cheeks burn as he said that. He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a reassuring look. "I don't stalk you. Honest."

"Good," Sora breathed. She couldn't help but shake the slight disappointment in her chest. She stared at the bentou and arched her eyebrow. "Having fun eating that?"

"Considering how skinny you are? I don't think you'll be able to gulp two of these down," Taichi shrugged as he broke apart the disposable chopsticks. He gestured towards the window. "And considering the damn bastard, I think it's better payback if he doesn't get to eat any of this."

"...kay." Sora quietly said.

Taichi looked at her from the corner of his eye. He felt himself blush again before setting the other bentou in her lap. "Eat. You'll be pretty horrible during tennis without any energy."

"Got it," Sora sputtered, clumsily catching the bentou. She stared at the slim chopsticks placed inside before breaking them apart.

"You're an awesome cook, Takenouchi."

"Thanks." A smile played on Sora's face, superfluously content to notice the small storm cloud outside.


	3. Miserable Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

Oh mai god. My laptop pretty much died on me in early July, so I am so sorry you guys didn't get this sooner! I had broken my hard drive, and I _couldn't _get the console disk for it. I apologize to _all _of my readers, and I really hope you forgive me! Those who read the Descending, I'm about halfway through and trying to give you an extra long, _extra juicy _chapter. For now, deal with this? Oh, and by the way! Has anyone ever heard of The Spill Canvas? Check out their song, _All Over You. _I'm positive that if you listen to it, it'll make you think of Taichi. Especially the first line; _Yeah he's a looker,  
but I really think it's guts that matter most. _Once again, very sorry.

**Chapter 3: **Miserable Misunderstandings

_...Shit. _

The bell rang almost immediately. Taichi gathered all of his things and looked around the classroom for his best friend. He grabbed the blond by the shoulder with a serious look when he found him. "Yamato."

The blond turned his head and blinked curiously. "Yes?"

Taichi smiled at him jokingly and patted him on the arm ever-so calmly. "I want to talk to you. About Sora."

"What about her?"

"You've been ditching her ever since Mimi came into the picture," Taichi frowned, narrowing his eyes at him. "I, your best friend, ate lunch with her today because you weren't there to. Do you really want your _best friend _eating lunch with your _girlfriend?_"

"Well, you don't seem to mind me eating with Mimi...," Yamato replied. He shrugged and looked at him strangely. "You don't, do you?"

"Of course not, but _she's_ not my girlfriend _or_ yours," Taichi pressed. He crossed his arms and frowned in disapproval. "What I _do _mind is your standing Sora up. Do you know how great of a cook she is? Because after that meal I ate for her, I can tell you that I'm absolutely full."

Yamato's face suddenly twisted into something Taichi couldn't recognize. "She made a meal for you?"

"No. For _you_," Taichi frowned and looked up at the taller boy. "She's your girlfriend. Now, I'm taking Mimi off your hands so you can focus on Sora, understood? Ditching one girl for another while you're _still _dating that one girl is injust."

"You _can't _treat her like an object like that!" Yamato shoved Taichi. The brunet fell over a desk and landed on the ground, head first. He glared at him, "Mimi is an individual to! I can _like _who I want!"

Taichi groaned as he got up from the desk and glared angrily before pouncing over Yamato. He punched him in the face. "If you're seriously telling me you like like her, then you're obviously mistaken! Sora is the nicest, sweetest, and the strongest girl I know! You're lucky to have her, and to _ugh! _Drop her like you're doing right now, you've lost all my respect!"

Yamato shoved Taichi into a wall and growled, "I love Sora and you know it! But if she isn't the one for me..."

"What do you _mean _if she isn't the one for you?! You should have her now before you lose her once and for all!" Taichi wrestled against Yamato and sneered, "Before she forgets how much you mean to her and before she thinks you're just a stranger to her and _lose _her to another guy!"

Yamato's grip loosened almost immediately. Taichi growled at him and tackled him to the ground, elbowing him in the stomach, but Yamato only stared at him and squinted. "Taichi..."

"That's enough!" A gathering crowd that neither one had noticed formed. Mimi shoved past each and every one of them and pulled Taichi off immediately. She stared at him in concern. "What has gotten _into you?" _

Taichi panted, sweat dripping from his forehead. He wiped his brow and looked back at Yamato, who was only staring at him. Looking back at Mimi, he frowned and closed his eyes. "I... don't know."

"Yamato...," He looked back slowly and saw Sora crouched over the other boy, a cloth in her hand to wipe off the bloody nose.

"...let me take you home," Taichi murmured quietly. He took Mimi by the hand and slowly walked out of the scene, never looking back.

_This wasn't supposed to happen. I swear, it wasn't. I don't know what made me lose control—I just did. Dammit, it's just... you don't want to see the love of your life crying her heart out because of some bastard who's hung up on another girl when he obviously knows he has a girlfriend, it just doesn't happen that way! I just... I'm tired of it. _

Mimi put her hand on top of Taichi's when the two of them got into the car. She flashed him a sympathetic smile and rubbed circles into his hand. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Taichi looked up slowly. "I don't know..." He slammed his head into the steering wheel, which sent out a loud, obnoxious beep. He heard Mimi giggle softly and fumbled with a small smile on his face before looking back up. His eyes traced the figures of Sora and Yamato coming out of the building. The smile slowly faded.

"...You're in love with her," Mimi concluded. She smiled at him and continued to draw circles on his hand with her fingers. "It's about time, don't you think?"

"A little too late, though," Taichi sighed and ignited the ignition. He backed up the car and began his ride on the road. "I just can't believe that stupid bastard! Making the moves on you when he knows he's got one of the best girls out there!"

"I agree with you, Taichi," Mimi assured. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked out the window. "I mean... I haven't been trying to give him the wrong idea, but he just won't go away, and..."

"And...?" Taichi looked at her from the corner of his eye. What he saw surprised him. "No way! You think he's hot!"

"Shut up, Taichi!" Mimi squirmed and shook her head furiously, but the scarlet red across her cheeks didn't help her attempts. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "We both know that Yamato's being an ass right now, and I really think that he's confused about it—"

"Sora's happy with him, they need to stay with each other," Taichi said firmly. He made a turn and scowled. "If that asshole breaks her heart..."

"I really do agree with you, Taichi, but I think that even Yamato thinks..."

"Thinks he's an ass too? Yeah, I agree with that," the male teen snorted and stepped on the breaks as they got to a stoplight.

"No, Taichi... I really think that Yamato might be thinking the same thing that I am," Mimi persisted. She frowned. "Just listen to me on this, okay?"

"Okay, what?" Taichi looked at her from the corner of his eye, hands patting the steering wheel in a hasty rhythm.

Mimi bit her lip. "Maybe... maybe Sora's still rebounding over you."

—

"Niichan..." Hikari knocked the door to their shared room in annoyance. She puffed and opened the door. Her brother lay on top of his own bed, hands behind his head as he stared into space. She frowned. "You're going to have to come out of your room sometime, you know."

"Great. I'll choose at the end of eternity."

Hikari rolled her eyes. "Are you still mad about what happened between you and Yamato-san? If it's any miscalculation, you're the one who punched him first, you know."

"You're supposed to be in middle school. How did you find out about _that?_"

"Takeru told me."

"Oh."

"..."

"..."

"...Well, I'm ready to talk when you are...," Hikari slowly said. Disappointment was head distinctly in her voice before she began to close the door.

Taichi sat up immediately. "Hikari."

The door opened up again, revealing his little sister. She looked at him with an interested smile and came into the room. "Yes?"

"Hypothetically speaking... and I mean, really, really hypothetically," Taichi looked up to the ceiling as if that had his answers. He looked back down at her carefully. "Okay, so say that... Sometime ago, you had a crush on Daisuke, but he was so oblivious to it and only saw you two as good friends—"

"Daisuke still has a crush on me."

"I know, this is hypotheti—"

"And if I dated him, it'd be like dating a chibi Oniichan—"

"Hikari!"

"Sorry..."

Taichi took a deep breath and thought back to what he was going to say. He turned to his sister. "Okay, so everyone knew it was obvious that you liked Daisuke but Daisuke himself, and when suddenly you found out he had no interest in you and even called you his _sister... _If you ran away from him, and Takeru, who you knew for years and both Daisuke and he were best friends, and he won your heart, but then a couple years later, Daisuke started developing feelings for you and you totally forgot he existed, but Miyako came back from America—err... Italy or something—and Takeru fell in love with him instantly and then you started asking for advice from Daisuke about how much of a _bastard _Takeru's being—"

"Well first off, I'd lay off the and's."

Taichi stopped from his rant. His face flushed with embarrassment as his eyes narrowed at the blond peering over his sister's shoulder. "Oh, T-Takeru..."

Takeru grinned at his senpai. "Then, if I were Daisuke, I'd try to think what's more important; my own feelings for Hikari, or how happy she is with me if I were myself. Then as Daisuke, follow my heart, and then maybe apologize for calling Takeru a bastard."

Cheeks only darkened. Taichi stood up and sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration. "Yeah... Sorry about that. Today's been a bad day for me..."

"I'm kind of hoping he he confesses to Sora-san, at least," Hikari remarked.

Takeru nodded his head. "After all, she's gonna have to choose herself whether or not she wants Taichi-san or Oniichan."

Taichi turned red, eyes narrowed. "You two are too young to know about this crap."

Hikari and Takeru both looked at each other with amused grins and turned back to the older teen with snickers. In unison, both said, "We're fourteen!"

"Well when I was fourteen, I didn't deal with this crap, so mind your own business!" Taichi only turned darker, knowing very well that that wasn't the whole truth.

"Whatever," Takeru rolled his eyes, hand slinking around Hikari's waist. He smiled mischievously and waved at Taichi. "We're going to go for smoothies. Do you want anything, Taichi-san?"

"Nah...," Taichi shook his head, eyes darting to the computer. He turned back to the two of them and smiled sheepishly. "I'll ask Agumon about this stuff. Maybe he'll have a less corny answer." He made his way to the computer and laughed as he heard Hikari mutter, 'Suit yourself.' before holding up his digivice. Fortunately, the gate was already opened. Taichi smiled to himself as he located his digimon before swooping into the computer.

—

"That's awful, Taichi!"

"I know!" Taichi frowned and collapsed next to the heap of Koromon. They all giggled and began to dogpile him like little children. Taichi smiled through all of this and petted one of them on the head. "Hey! Stop, that tickles!"

Agumon laughed at his partner and sat down next to him. "You know what, Tai? You're too carefree to have something like this happen to you."

"Well it kind of makes sense...," Taichi pressed awkwardly. He clutched his arm and frowned. "Yamato and I have been friends since we found out about the Digital World, and we've been fighting since then. So for us to be fighting over the same girl..."

"But you're not fighting over the same girl! ...Right? Yamato wants Mimi and Sora wants Yamato and you want Sora, right? So does that mean that Mimi wants you?"

"No," Taichi laughed and gently pushed another Koromon off of his stomach. He grinned warily and sadly. "Mimi wants Yamato, but she's trying to resist him because Sora and he are an item."

"_Are _they an item, Taichi? I mean, aren't humans, you know, human beings?"

"No, an item is like... being a couple," Taichi grinned and sat up. He pushed at Agumon's snout playfully. "You're out of touch with the human world, Agumon."

"Well, if you brought a magazine once in a while...," Agumon pressed. He rolled his eyes and pouted cutely. "But if you like Sora so much, don't you think you should at least do the justice of telling her?"

"Well, that's not how it works in the human world, Agumon," Taichi shrugged and ran his hand through his hair. "It's not that simple. It's so... _not _simple that it's complicated."

"But that makes no sense!" Agumon crossed his arms and shook his head. "That's like saying that humans can turn into digimon!"

Taichi snorted and grinned. "Like that'll ever happen."

"_Tell her_, Taichi! Even if you get dumped, you're the holder of the crest of _courage_, not the crest of wimping out!" Agumon frowned. A Koromon giggled and jumped into Agumon's lap.

"You know," the Koromon said thoughtfully, "The way that you show a female Koromon the way you feel is that you take her by her right ear and you tug on it. If she tugs you back on the left ear, then that means that she really likes you!"

"Hey, yeah!" Agumon nodded his head in agreement. "And if you were an Agumon, you'd try to make your baby flame into the left side of a heart in front of her. The bigger, the better! And if she makes the right side, then that means that the love is requited!"

"And, as a Greymon...," another Koromon pitched in. "You touch horns together and they say that with your soul mate and your soul mate only that you horn will look like half of a heart. If you do that, then Sora-san would totally be interested in you!"

Taichi grinned and put that Koromon in his lap. "Well one" He eyed Agumon "I can't shoot out baby flames. Two, I don't have a horn and neither does Sora."

"But the ear thing might work!" the Koromon in Agumon's lap insisted.

"Maybe..." Taichi agreed. He blushed and shuddered. "But the last thing that I did anything to Sora, it was about these hair clips, and they didn't work out very well."

"What do humans do during mating season then, Taichi?" Agumon asked innocently. "You give them these really shiny pebbles in a ring, right?"

"Sort of," the brunet confirmed. He shrugged. "Well... on Valentine's Day, the girls give the guy they like homemade chocolates. If the guy accepts them, then that's more likely that they like them, and one month later on White Day, they give a gift back."

"'sounds sexist to me," a Koromon bounced up and down before landing on top of Taichi's head. The Koromon gasped with delight. "You know what? You should go to the Yokomon village! Since Piyomon is Sora's digimon partner, they're bound to know some traditions she's familiar with!"

Taichi groaned and rolled his eyes. "Don't you think it's strange enough that I'm talking to a colony of pink bouncing puffballs about my problem?"

"Do _you _think that it's strange?" one of the Koromon giggled and happily bounced up and down.

The brunet smiled softly and sighed. "I guess so, huh?"

"Guess what?"

The smile on Taichi's face dropped. He got up from the ground immediately, causing all of the Koromon that had gotten on top of him to fall. "Sora?"

"That's Sora?" one of the Koromon whispered to another.

One of the other Koromon said aloud, "She's even prettier than you said she was, Taichi!"

Sora looked at the colony of Koromon in surprise and then giggled. She turned back to Taichi, who began to blush. Sora's cheeks darkened themselves with embarrassment. "I figured I'd find you around here."

"You were looking for me?" Taichi arched his eyebrow.

"No, Yamato, actually," Sora said. She quickly replied with disappointment, "But Mimi and he..."

"Ran into each other?"

The redhead nodded. "And I was just walking around and about and well, here you are, so, I-I..."

"Talk to her!"

"Whoa!" Taichi landed right in front of Sora and turned around. He glared angrily at the Koromon that shoved him and turned back to Sora. He smiled shyly. "Come with me."

Sora looked at him desperately. Nervously, she smiled back and nodded her head. "...Right."

_No. No, no, NO!_

"So... what was it that you wanted to talk about with me?" Taichi asked quietly as they got out of earshot of the Koromon Village. He laughed as she stumbled in her flipflops over a steep rock and helped her at the edge of the waterfall.

"About today," Sora said hesitantly. She smiled nervously and sat down at the end of the pool of water. "And about Yamato. We... had this talk before we got into the car."

"He didn't break up with you, did he?" Taichi's eyes widened. He clenched his fist. "I'm so sorry Sora, when I get a hold of him, I'll beat the crap out of him—"

"Taichi, he didn't break up with me—"

"And if he even dares show his face at school, I'll break his nose into three pieces—"

"TAICHI!" the boy shut up immediately. Sora giggled and rolled her eyes. "I forgot how oblivious you were, even when we were in the digital world."

Taichi smiled back and shrugged sheepishly. "We had a lot of good times in the digital world."

"We did, didn't we?" Sora laughed lightly and pulled a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You were so hyper... and bouncy... and such a troublemaker..."

"We had a lot of bad times too," Taichi reminded. He looked back at her apologetically.

"Yeah," Sora arched an amused eyebrow. "SkullGreymon?"

The look on Taichi's face faded away. Eyebrows furrowed, he frowned. "Sora, that's not what I..."

"Well, I guess I didn't help with running away all the time, now did I? After you went back to Japan and all of that," Sora added. She smiled softly and put her hand over Taichi's. "Thanks for saving me again... even if it was your fault in the first place."

Taichi stared at Sora speechlessly. A small smile tugged on his face as he rubbed circles on top of Sora's fingers with his thumb. "Sora... if you weren't in my childhood, then I wouldn't know what I would do."

"Thanks," Sora laughed softly and awkwardly held her hands out. Taichi stared in confusion. She giggled again. "Could I have a hug?"

"Oh! Sure," Taichi laughed with her and pulled her into a hug. He rested his chin above her head and held her close. Breathing upon her hair, he smiled and stroke her hair. His eyes landed on a Koromon and Agumon jumping about behind a bush. His eyes widened. Agumon grinned innocently and tugged on Koromon's ear. He gestured to Sora. Taichi gaped.

"You can let go now, you know..."

"Oh, right," Taichi muttered quietly. He backed away from her carefully and blushed.

Sora looked at him strangely and smiled. "I know we haven't spoken to each other much since we were kids, but... you and I are tight, right?"

"Of course," the brunet blinked with surprise. "What would give you the idea otherwise?"

"You're still never yourself around me, and that just kind of... makes me feel like I did something awful when we were younger, I just don't remember what—"

"Sora." Taichi leaned over the redhead immediately, hand on her shoulder. Eyebrows furrowed, he tightened his grip at her shoulder. "You could _never _do anything that would make me think any less of you. If anything, it's my fault for losing such a great catch like you."

The girl suddenly became quieted. She looked back at him with confusion and whispered, "Taichi..." She laughed softly. "You know, this may seem ridiculous, but... I had the biggest crush on you when we were five."

"Oh really?" Taichi leaned forward with a coy grin. "So you show your likeness to another five-year-old by throwing a soccer ball at his head?"

"Yes, really," Sora laughed again and smiled. She leaned closer to him, eyes becoming connected with his. "And if I'm not mistaken, you were the one who threw that ball at _me._"

"Really now?"

"_Yes, _really..."

Sora kissed him.

Taichi's eyes widened in initial shock. He smiled through the kiss if that were possible and kissed her back, the grip on her shoulder tightening. To Taichi, it seemed like an eternity had past before they had let go. He swore he heard Agumon and all of the other Koromon cheering him on as this happened. When the kiss was finally done, the two released for a breath of fresh air. The two entered an uneasy, tense silence.

"..."

"..."

"That was... wow," Sora muttered under her breath. She looked over to Taichi, who was staring at the ground, flushing. She arched her eyebrow curiously. "Did you... roll your tongue when we—"

"Yeah."

"..._Taichi_...tell me," the redhead turned to Taichi. "I just got caught up in the moment Because since you're my boyfriend's best friend and all—"

"Best friend... best friend! Aw shit, Yamato!" Taichi covered his face with his hand and got up from where he was sitting. "This is horrible! He and you—and you and he... You guys are dating and you're supposed to be heartbroken... and I'm not helping, and..."

"Taichi...," Sora got up and stepped forward with a frown.

"And Mimi's coming back isn't supposed to cause all of this drama, and she and I should have just gotten back together to prevent all of this, and—"

"TAICHI!" Sora slapped the boy upside the head and frowned, eyes narrowed. "For a guy that I've known since we were babies, you're still as deaf as a doorknob!"

"Ouch...," Taichi groaned and looked down at the girl with a pout. "That hurt..."

"That kiss was really great... I liked it," Sora smiled and put her hand on the boy's shoulder. "It was... amazing. That thing you did with your tongue was really... amazing! Yamato can't even do that..."

"Thanks... I think," Taichi shoved his hands into his pockets and rubbed the back of his head. He looked back at her and arched his eyebrow, the blush on his face darkening. "Why aren't you overreacting about this like I am? You just kissed your boyfriend's best friend."

"And my boyfriend is trying to make a move on _my _best friend," Sora retorted knowingly. She arched her eyebrow as if she expected Taichi to follow. She looked down at Taichi's hand and turned red before pulling it into her own hand. "Does this... feel awkward?"

Taichi stared down at it. He shrugged nonchalantly and tightened their grip. He looked at her and tried to fight what his heart was telling him to do. "It feels... right." His heart won. He smiled at her and bent down, stealing another kiss. Sora didn't hesitate in the slightest, kissing him back. Taichi released the kiss and smiled at her guiltily. "You're too tempting."

Sora smiled and tried to fight back giggles against his silliness. She looked back up at him and quietly asked, "Hey... Taichi?" Her grip on his hand tightened comfortably. She pressed herself against his chest as he pulled her into an embrace.

"Mm...?" Taichi replied quietly.

"About that girl you like..."

_She's you, idiot. _Taichi chuckled quietly under his breath and looked down at her. "If you're wondering who she is..."

"No, I respect your wishes," Sora quickly quipped.. She smiled sheepishly. "But...could you do me a favor?"

"Yes?" _'Kiss me again and just hold me like this so I can forget about that bastard.' Say it. Come on, you know you want to._

"If you and I were to get really buddy-buddy and close to the point that we look like we're going to hook up... that'd make your mysterious girl jealous and Yamato jealous, so you gain someone, and I gain someone, right?" Sora looked at him hopefully.

The smile on Taichi's face dropped. He looked down at her, speechless. Immediately, he pulled away from her and rummaged through his pocket for his digivice. "No."

"What?" the redhead's hope dissipated quickly. She frowned. "Why not? I mean, I know that it's a really big favor to ask, but—"

"Sora," the boy interrupted. He cocked his head her way, but from what Sora could see, he was utterly disgusted. "As the holder of the crest of love, you of all people should know that messing with someone's feelings that way is horrible. If you want to get Yamato back, you try it yourself, you don't use dirty tricks."

Sora looked down at the ground. He had a point. "But... Yamato and Mimi..."

"She told me herself that she's resisting his charm. You can't control the way that people feel," Taichi snapped. He looked back at her. "I know you're madly in love with him, but doing stupid things like this is only going to hurt the both of us."

"But it helps your love life too!" Sora persisted. Eyebrows furrowed, she frowned, "Taichi..."

The brunet gave her one last look that showed all of his rage. If looks could have killed at that very moment... "She wouldn't have gotten the message anyways."

_—_

_ "Maybe... maybe Sora's still rebounding over you." _

_Taichi stopped the car right in front of Mimi's new house. He looked down onto the dashboard as if it were the most interesting thing on earth and frowned. "You're wrong." _

_"Maybe not," Mimi persisted. She arched a playful eyebrow. "I think it's the wrong time to start going into denial, Yagami." _

_"The two of them have been dating for years, you do realize that, right?" Taichi pressed. He looked up at her, eyebrows furrowed to the point that Mimi could see that he didn't want it happening. "If the two of them are able to be together after this long, then they're great enough to be together for the rest of senior year."_

_Mimi rolled her eyes and hit the boy over the shoulder. "You can't control what people feel,Taichi." _

_"Then she'll come to me when she's ready," Taichi frowned. "I'm serious, Mimi!" _

_"If you say so," the girl sighed and rolled her eyes. She opened the door and peered back at him carefully. "But... do you think she's the one who needs to be ready with her feelings?" _

_Taichi looked back at her and shrugged. "Not sure." _

_Mimi smiled back at him. She leaned over the chair and kissed him on the cheek sweetly. "Any girl is crazy to let you go." She shut the car door and left. _

_—_

_Honestly, Sora? If any girl is crazy, then you're insane._

Taichi pulled up in front of the new Tachikawa Residence. Sweat dripped from his brow with his face curved with anger. He sighed and got out of the car. Mimi would probably agree to the idea, no matter how weird it was. They were natural at this, after all. He told himself to stop tapping the car door and got outside.

He rang the doorbell hesitantly, running a hand through his hair. _"I'll get it!_" Mimi's voice echoed. The door opened soon afterwards. Mimi looked at Taichi with surprise. "You dropped me off hours ago!"

The brunet grinned and shrugged. "I decided that this was too much distance away from you."

Mimi giggled and ushered him in on the couch. Boxes were still everywhere, half of the things to be unloaded, and the other half to be opened. "Still bothered by Sora?"

The grin disappeared. "A little..."

"M-Mimi! Miyako isn't going to like me in... Th-This!"

The two cocked their heads. Taichi's lip curled into amusement. He covered his mouth and tried not to laugh. Hell, he tried not to make it _obvious _he was laughing. "What are you doing here... C-Cupid...?"

"Ooh, Miyako-chan's into all that lovey dovey stuff! You'll be fine, Koushirou!" Mimi smiled and walked over to the boy to readjust the sash over his chest. "Besides, you look _adorable!" _

Koushirou groaned and glared at Taichi. "Don't. Laugh."

"That's not why I'm here, but maybe I could," Taichi snickered. He looked back to Mimi and suddenly frowned uncomfortably. "I... need you to do me a favor. It'll help us; the both of us."

"Is this about Taichi's crush on Sora?" Koushirou asked blandly. He held his arms out into a big "T" and looked back at Mimi with a sigh.

A blush grew on the poor guy's face. "Does the whole world know I love her?!"

"Well, everyone in this world, of course. Your world, AKA Sora...," Koushirou sighed and let out an "ouch" as Mimi readjusted the safety pin over his diaper. "Not a clue."

"Oh, you look so cuuute!" Mimi squealed happily. She turned back to Taichi with a grin. "So, what's the favor?"

"I need...," Taichi looked down to the ground and gulped. Looking back up, he shifted on the couch uncomfortably. "I need you to go out with me."

—


End file.
